Anciently Forbidden

Chapter 12: Suspicious Old Man (1)

A full moon hung above. The crystal clear water flowed, sparkling. A head suddenly emerged from the water.

Vince shook his head. He sank his body underwater for three minutes, trying to calm his burning desire. He surfaced and then sank again, he repeated these a few times until he felt his body slowly calm down. He then moved to the side and leaned on the rock, his lower body was still submerged in the flowing water.

"What happened to me? Is this some kind of psychological effect... of staying with a man alone for a longer period?" 

Vince was stiffened for a long moment, leaning still on the rock with a mystified face. His body was half-submerged, with droplets of water dripping down from his long wet hair. He was trying to figure out any possible scientific explanation for his body's weird reactions to come up with a suitable solution. But after two hours, nothing came to his disordered mind. The perfectly recorded image of the naked prince dominated his thoughts all this time. 

"Ah! This is insane!" He squatted down to fully submerge his whole body for a few minutes.

Around three hours later, Vince still didn't figure out anything, so he conditioned his mind to set aside everything. He was feeling better, and his body was getting numb and wrinkled from soaking the water for three hours. He went back to his campfire. 

The prince was still sitting near the fire but laid down after sensing that he was back. It was past midnight, the moon was setting down and the cliff was shading the moonlight that made the place darker. The clothes were dried, so he put them back. He took a peek at the prince laying in the distance and felt guilty. 

He laid down and closed his eyes trying to divert his thoughts. It took him almost an hour to fall asleep.

The next morning, the sun was already high above the sky when Vince woke. He sat up and saw the prince roasting their breakfast. Guilt and shame immediately crept into his senses. 

"Let's eat breakfast." Prince Aiji's soft voice called later.

"Okay." Vince's body was unwilling to move. He was reluctant to get close to Prince Aiji.

"I need to compose myself. The prince isn't aware of my craziness anyway." This thought soothed his guilty mind. He then stood up after gathering enough courage and walked towards the prince.

"What are you roasting?" 

"I caught an eel, I roasted it with yams." The prince, who seemed to be back to his normal self after being dispirited last night, answered.

"Mmm, it looks delicious." 

Looking at the prince's lively face, his guilt slowly disappeared. Vince took a bite cheerfully.

"Hmm, it is delicious!" He said and told the prince to take a bite. The prince smiled and took a bite too.

"Prince Aiji, is that our raft? I thought the flood drifted it away." 

"Yes, I saw it on the other side this morning. It seemed that we were washed to the side after we fell from the waterfall. It was fortunate that this falls isn't too high." 

Both of them looked at the calm water falling in the distance. There were no more traces of the violent flash flood they encountered last night.

"Though we got injuries, thank God it's not severe, we survived and can retrieve our things too." 

After breakfast, they gathered and cleaned their things that were securely tied on the raft. They dried their clothes and arranged their weapons.

"Prince Aiji, we can't travel in the river now, it's too dangerous." 

"Yes, Dari. We will just walk on the bank to follow this river."

"But our clothes are still wet, we have to wait until noon before we resume our journey."

"Dari, let's pick some gold in the meantime?"

"Gold?" 

"Yes. I saw bigger sizes on the other side. There are even a few under our feet, but of smaller sizes." Prince Aiji picked small yellowish stones on the ground.

"Oh!" Vince uttered, but he wasn't as surprised as before knowing the fact that gold is found everywhere in this ancient place. 

"Let's start picking then!" The greedy, modern man was excited.

It was already after lunch that they resumed their journey, traversing the riverside, following the river flow. They carried their weapons and mounted their gold and clothes on Gorgeous' back, together with Red. They walk for a few hours on the tricky riverside.

It was late in the afternoon, they were looking for a good place to camp for the night when they saw a few huts ahead. These huts that were made of bamboo from its wall to the roof, look old and deserted. Mosses and ferns are growing on the roofs, with some hanging plants dangling on the edges. The surroundings of these huts were filled with ferns and weeds too, except the huts' entrances and the pathways. 

Suddenly, a gray-haired old man popped out from the nearest hut and rushed to meet them merrily. Both of them halted their steps and looked at the approaching old man. 

The old man was wearing black short pants and his naked upper body was filled with dangling bone necklaces, which were mostly covered by his long, wavy hair. Though thin and old, the old man looked strong and lively, with a wide and amiable smile. The twenty-first-century soldier Vince, smiled back at the old man politely, while the ancient Prince Aiji was silent and wary. 

"Young men, are you looking for a place to stay for the night?" A courteous and friendly old voice greeted them.